Cleaning Up Nicely Part II

By the end of the first three hands, Jerry was in possession of the ifrit, the dryad, the undine, the manticaer, the blitztanzer, two velocidashers, a siren which Herr Nakitomi insisted was quite safe and well trained in producing a variety of music forms, and a slime-type creature called an 'alchemistra' that Jerry was told by Isaac, and reassured by the **** trader, can eat almost anything and use its body's unique magical properties to produce countless varieties of materials, chemicals, and substances. "She cost me three months' allowance." said Isaac after having lost his ride home in an attempt to get back his new battle beast that he had not even had the chance to test before losing in the first round. Isaac did not want to stake his favorite source for ****, but the young man was **** to get his prized mount back.

Jerry thought quickly when he believed that Isaac was going to storm off in a pout after he lost the third hand in a row. "How about we take the stakes down a bit. Y'all have cash on you, yes?" Jerry fanned out the containment cards that represented his winnings. "How about I borrow some money from y'all using these as collateral. You can still beat my butt and call yourselves winners for the night. C'mon. We have a good thing going and I do not want the party to end." said Jerry.

"I like your style, stranger." said Jacob as he pulled out his wallet, drew out what looked like a bank check or Treasury note and drew gold and silver coins out of the piece of paper and handed Jerry the money for his stake.

"My my. A bold move from a bold man." said lady Shebari, taking out her own purse and smiling as she gave Jerry the money.

"Alright." said Isaac. His wallet was noticeably thinner than the other two and looked close to empty when he handed over his stake. "But you better not leave before playing at least a dozen and a half rounds."

"Of course." said Jerry. "and you, Herr Nakitomi?"

"I have plenty of other sirens." said the **** trader, placing the coins for the buy into the pot and drawing his cards.

Jerry lost a few hands as he tried to learn how the game actually worked. He thought of it a lot like poker but with dice. He tried to keep the rules straight in his head, which the HUD helped with immensely, but Jerry knew that he was never going to master this game, that was alright though, since he could see and change everyone's cards and determine the outcomes of dice rolls before they happen. He refrained from using his cheat skill when the stakes were low, but as the game wore on, Jerry found that Jacob seemed utterly indifferent to losing, Shebari seemed to get excited whenever Jerry won a large hand, and Isaac proved to be the sort of person from whom one could enjoy taking their money. Seamus seemed to be the only person at the table who played the game with the proper level of seriousness.

Jerry took this time to learn what he could about where he was and the people who lived there. He learned that where he was now, the Kingdom of Shefegard was a small but prosperous Constitutional Monarchy that was part of the Commonwealth of Kingdoms, which Jerry figured was like the Holy Roman Empire from Earth's history. Where they were in particular, Marchland County, was a quiet, bountiful little backwater that would be the most boring of places but for the fact that it abuts the Free City of Stoneford, a major trading hub that connects the Commonwealth to the lands beyond the Tohu, a flat untamable grassland where legendary and mythic tier monsters roam across the land in great herds, a place where packs of kaiju sized predators hunt moving mountain ranges and where only nomadic hunter tribes can survive. Beyond this sea of grass and monsters are the Great Empire of The Pharaoh, The lands of the Rusczeck Princes, the Binjandi temple cities, The clanholds of the Shoguntai, and other exotic and strange lands which Herr Nakitomi spoke about with panache and bravado.

"I am less concerned with the exotic lands to the west and more concerned with the troubles to our east." said Jacob. "If the elves really have fallen to The Demon Khan, then we have to prepare for the possibility that we will have an invasion of The Corrupted." The young Bourbaalois patriarch did not even look at his cards before checking and raising.

"The elves have not 'fallen', they accepted a conditional surrender. They have done it before. Bribe the horde with tribute and wait for the demon Khan to die of causes natural or otherwise." said Isaac, looking at his cards and doing odds in his head before seeing the bet.

"I just feel sorry for the elven princesses." said Shebari. "You can talk all you want about 'waiting out' the demon Khan, but that's a small comfort for the poor girls who are **** to marry an abomination and spend decades or centuries being used to breed fiends like some kind of living hellspawn point." the widow Bourbaalois paid a fee to roll the dice and swap some of her cards before buying into the pot.

"Perhaps it behooves the Congress to ask the elves if they want a few legions to fortify their border garrisons." suggested Jacob.

"The last thing that the elves want is human soldiers setting up bases in their territory. Sire Valwaaroo is correct about the elves seeing the long game." said Herr Nakitomi. "They do not like change and would see accepting the loss of a few maidens and cheap baubles as preferable to inviting human domination over their lands. And before you try to argue that it would not be domination, just friendly military aid, the elves would not see it that way. To them, today's military allies are tomorrow's occupation ****. No, if you are worried about the demon Khan's army passing through the Skybreak mountains then your Congress should prioritize reinforcing the fortresses in the passes and encourage people to buy collars for their slaves to prevent the spread of The Corruption."

Isaac had run out of money before the first dozen hands had been played. ****, the youth with the blonde bowl cut had to ask his sister for a loan. Jerry watched the two siblings shouting at one another before the lady Dinarya Valwaaroo handed a coin purse and a card case to her stubborn fool of a brother before she returned to dancing with her fiery lizard boy and a sexy sylph with blue and white feathers that were accentuated by the ****'s pale body.

"Herr Nakitomi. Good sire. Can you give me a good price on any of these?" Isaac handed several containment cards to the trader who shuffled through them, reading the back as he examined the pictures on their front.

"It is a buyer's market." said Seamus. "These three I could take off your hands for a hundred links each. The rest I would not offer more than a chain apiece."
"See here, that is outright robbery." said Isaac. "I would get five hundred for each of these in Caeradeen or Stoneford."
"More like three hundred. If you want to make the journey, be my guest, I probably will not be here when you return. You can take my offer or leave it." said the trader.
"Why you..."
"I will offer you two fifty on those three, plus a hundred twenty five for the others." said Jerry.
"You will!" said Isaac.
"You will?" said Jacob. "sight unseen?"
"Sure." said Jerry. "If we agree to up the buy in."
"You're alright, stranger." said Isaac handing over the containment cards and receiving a handful of coins.

As Isaac once again began to run low on funds and Seamus looked about ready to retire for the evening, Jerry got an idea. "Herr Nakitomi, you said that you cannot sell your human slaves in the kingdom, but what about using them as collateral in a card game?"
The bald **** merchant thought about what the young man was asking and the offer hidden within the question. "Let me consult my lawyer bird."

Herr Seamus Nakitomi took a containment card from a gold case and with a tap and a Word, released the monster contained within. An ibis wearing a suit and glasses appeared from a geyser of glowing pixels. "How may I assist today, Master?" asked the avian attorney. The lawyer bird listened to the facts of the situation before stating that "The statutes regulating human bondage specifically carve out an exception allowing the transfer of human slaves as prizes in games of chance and skill. In this situation, where you are using them as collateral in a short term loan, you must demonstrate a good faith attempt at trying to win back your slaves by playing at least three hands of cards. Then you could walk away from the table with a portion of the loan if you lose, or your human slaves repurchased if you win." Seamus Nakitomi smiled. As fun as owning human beings slaves was, as much enjoyment the twins were in his bed, as amazing as Sasha was at sucking cock, they were far more trouble than they were worth. High upkeep costs, cannot be stored in containment devices, and some customers find them off-putting and distasteful. Then this young man comes along, seemingly blessed by the gods with extraordinary luck, and offers to buy them using a legal loophole. "They are worth quite a bit. Novelty value and all that."
"Of course." said Jerry. "What do you reckon they are worth?"

Four hands later, Herr Nakitomi was signing over the ownership title of the three blonde human girls named Sasha, Chloe, and Zoe, formerly of Stoneford, now Jerry's personal property. Their names appeared in Jerry's HAREM menu, he felt their enchanted leashes connecting their souls to his.
"Well gentlemen, lady. I thank you all for the profitable and productive evening." said Herr Nakitomi. "Good luck, my dear." The **** trader said to the human girl he had just bartered away in a card game.

Isaac knew that he should not keep playing. He had lost his ride, Dina's band and backup dancers. Not to mention the battle beast he never got to try out. He was on his last handful of coins and would soon not be able to afford the round's buy. He had lost enough and he should have known that he was not going to have a comeback this late in the game. He told himself just one more hand, two tops.
Then Isaac Valwaaroo saw his cards. He could not believe it. It was a once in a lifetime hand. A hand that legends were made from. This was it, all of the losing up until now was the gods adding dramatic tension to this moment, now they were giving him a chance to win back his money, his slaves, and his sense of self respect. Isaac Valwaaroo went all in, placing everything he had left into the pot. Jacob Bourbaalios folded. Shebari Bourbaalios matched the bet, then added five hundred links on top of the pot. Jerry followed with his own raise of seven hundred fifty.

Isaac knew that he should not do it. His father had made it absolutely clear to the younger Valwaaroo that she was there for emergencies only. She was to stay in his pocket and only brought out to be used in a life or **** situation. But, this was the hand, this was the moment. "If I am going to stake this, then I want you to put my velocidasher, my manticaer, and my alchemistra in the pot." said Isaac as he unbuttoned his shirt pocked and reached for the card within.
"Ike, Do not do this." said Jacob. "You can get another racing mount, Herr Nakitomi has other battle beasts, and we have all been meaning to talk to you about the ****. But my friend. Freynika is unique, one of a kind, and your father loves her. If you lose her in a card game, he is not going to let that go lightly."
"I know that it is a gamble." said Isaac. The Valwaaroo sire showed the card to Jerry.

The front was a goblin girl holding a wand in a dramatic pose. She was dressed conservatively for a goblin, which is to say she was wearing a chain mail bra top and a mini skirt that was little more than two pieces of sheer white cloth covering her front and back held together by gold chains. The goblin girl wore lots of rings and sported no less than five piercings in her long pointed ears. "I know she looks like an ordinary goblin girl, but read the back stats."

Jerry was surprised. Level 132 sorceress, level 128 enchantress, level 124 wizardess, level 121 witch, level 94 druid, level 75 monk, and level 42 cleric. "Quite the magical powerhouse in such a small package." said Jerry, handing the card back to the Valwaaroo sire.
"She is a prodigy, she reached the hundred twentieth levels of sorcery and enchantment before her fourteenth birthday when she decided to slow down and spread her focus. At nineteen, she is the youngest mage in the kingdom to achieve master levels in four magical disciplines. She is..."
"She is your half-sister. And if you lose her. Your father will take it out of your hide. Oh what?" said Jacob. "You think a man who travels around with an orc dressed like that at his side gives a damn that your daddy gets the green fever from time to time, who has not enjoyed a tumble with their verda?"
"I most certainly have not." said Isaac.
"Sure." said Jacob not wanting to confront his friend on his obvious lie and double standards in front of the stranger. Jacob sat back, having tried his best to save his friend from being his worst self, he resigned himself to watching what happened next with a detached fatalism.

"Are you absolutely sure that you want to do this? Maybe you should talk to your sister, your human sister that is, about this before you make a choice you cannot take back?" said Jerry.
"It is fine. I know what I am doing. Now, do we have a deal?" asked Isaac Valwaaroo.
"Alright, if you are sure, then yeah. I will wager one of my racing chickens, my scorpion cat lady, and my chemistry blob against your goblin mage girl. You are sure?" asked Jerry.
"Yes. I am sure." said Isaac before throwing the containment card into the pot.
"Okay." said Jerry as he placed his wager on the pile. "I call."

***

"Once again. I really must apologize on behalf of my friend." said Jacob to Jerry as the pair stood over Isaac Valwaaroo's **** body. "He has always had trouble with self restraint, always taking his vices slightly past the line of healthy recreation into the realm of self destruction. His father's wealth and status has shielded him from the worst of it, but after what he did tonight, that very well may change." Jacob offered Jerry a puff from his cigarillo, Jerry pulled his own from his inventory and used a cantrip to light the smokable. "Flipping a table like that. Attacking a gentlemen traveler over a bet lost fairly. It is downright dishonorable behavior."
"It's nothing I cannot forgive." said Jerry. "and if he tries it again when he wakes up, well." Jerry took a long drag of heaven's leaf smoke. "He does make a rather humorous 'THUMP' noise when he hits the ground."
Jacob broke out into uncontrollable laughter at that. "He really did."

"What is the meaning of this? I demand to know what has happened to my brother!" Jerry turned to see the lady Dinarya Valwaaroo storming towards Jerry and Jacob with a look of indignant fury on her face.

Jerry was ready to face down Isaac's angry sister when he felt Bellanna's hand grab his shoulder. "Master. I sense danger. I think Titania is in trouble."
Jerry turned around to scan the dance floor for his elven companion. He found her walking towards the exit to all normal appearances by herself. However, Jerry noticed the gold band studded with diamonds around the elf girl's neck which his HUD identified as an elf **** collar, a magical device echanted to neutralize an elf's natural immunity from The **** Codes. This prompted Jerry to use Detect Magic, Detect Invisible, Detect Hidden, and any other spell that could reveal things or people that do not want to be found. Jerry saw them six elves wearing cloaks enchanted with some serious stealth and protection magics surrounding Titania and taking her away.

"Excuse me." Jerry said to Jacob before he disappeared in a flash step.